Past and Future
by Soul of Antauri
Summary: While Yusei is mulling over the Fortune Cup, he meets a strange man wearing leather.


**Based on Japanese Version. I'm on episode 12 of 5D's right now, so I'm pretty much covering everything I can up to then. I finished the original Yu-Gi-Oh, so I know what to do with that. Spoilers on Yami Yugi's real name.**

**-**

Yusei looked over Neo Domino City. It was a nice as it looked on television. Everything had a shine to it and a decent amount of cleanliness. It's amazing how everything can look beautiful here when Satellite was easy to see in the distance. Yusei felt so lonely. All of his friends were there. He looked through his deck and picked out the card Rally gave him. "One Shot Booster", Rally's most prized card.

Things were rough when he first came to Neo Domino City. He received the dragon birthmark on his arm, he got the criminal marker on his face, and he was sent to the detention center. But along the way, he met great friends. Himuro, Yanagi, even the twins Rua and Ruka, they will leave an imprint in his heart.

Still Yusei wondered how his friends - his family - is doing. The head of the sector security, Goodwin, threatened his family's life. If Yusei didn't participate in that KaibaCorp duel contest, they might be killed. No, Yusei would not allow that to happen. His friends are all he has left after his parents died. If his friends died, he would die with them.

The sun was setting, making the sky red until it disappeared all together and the stars and moon shined through the darkness. Yusei looked at the illuminated moon.

_I promise you, I will not allow anyone to hurt you, my friends._

"My, my, Domino City has changed dramatically over the years."

Yusei spun around to face the voice. He faced a man no older than he. He was wearing tight leather pants with a no-sleeved shirt with buckles and buttons. The man's hair was the most flamboyant. It was spiked in every direction with crimson trimmings and golden bangs that looked like lightning bolts. He was wearing a puzzle around his neck by a chain. The man noticed Yusei standing there.

"Excuse me…" the man trailed off, hoping Yusei would give his name.

"Yusei," he replied. The man grinned.

"Excuse Yusei, but can you tell me where Yugi Mouto is?" he asked. Yusei furrowed his eyebrows.

"Mouto? I've never heard of anyone by that name," he responded. The man widened his eyes in surprise.

"Yugi Mouto. Surely you've heard of him. He's the duel king!" he exclaimed.

"Jack Atlus is the King of Duel Monsters," Yusei replied.

"Atlus? That doesn't sound familiar," the man murmured to himself. Yusei was confused. Who was this person, and how can he not know who Jack Atlus is? "Do you at least know Kaiba?" the man continued.

"Seto Kaiba? The president of Kaiba Corporation?" Yusei asked. The man smiled.

"Yes, the same bastard," he said, using the usual insult as a friendly term. "How long has Domino City been like this?"

"It's called Neo Domino City now and it's been this way as long as I can remember," Yusei said. The man mused on this.

"I guess I'm a little too far into the future. Aibou must be married and have children by now," the man murmured, holding the puzzle tenderly in his hands. He looked back at Yusei and frowned.

"What is that marking on your face?" he asked. Yusei immediately shot his hand up and touched his mark as a criminal. He flinched as he remembered the agony of that laser burning the mark into his skin.

"It's a warning," Yusei said simply. The man could see he was hiding something, but didn't press it. He barely knew him anyway.

"Well, thank you, Yusei. I guess I shall take my leave now. I need to see Aibou again, before this Neo Domino was created," the man said. He grasped his puzzle and whispered words Yusei didn't understand, but he did notice what was happening. Shadows came from all angles and swirled around right in front of the man, who was still chanting. When the shadows became solid, the man stopped talking and looked back at Yusei.

"Get some sleep, Yusei, you look exhausted," he said, and stepped into the shadows. They immediately crawled around the man, surrounding him in darkness.

"Wait! What is your name?" Yusei asked. The man held an amused expression.

"My name," the man smiled, "is Atemu."

Then the shadows engulfed Atemu and he disappeared.

Yusei could only stare where the man had once stood.

Atemu.

What a strange person.

-

**I'm supposed to be doing my Language Arts project right now. Screw that.**


End file.
